Five reactions of friends and family
by Shenandoah Risu
Summary: Five reactions of friends and family of Destiny personnel when the Stargate Project finally became public.


**Title: Five reactions of friends and family of Destiny personnel when the Stargate Project finally became public  
Author: Shenandoah Risu  
Rating**: PG-13  
**Content Flags**: character death  
**Spoilers**: none/ post series  
**Characters**: Emily Young, Patricia Armstrong, Matthew Balic, Sharon Walker, Maryann Wallace  
**Author's Notes**: Written for prompt set #116 at the LJ Comm sg1_five_things.  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own SGU. I wouldn't know what to do with it. Now, Young... Young I'd know what to do with. ;-)  
**Thanks for reading! Feedback = Love. ;-)**

**oOo**

**Five reactions of friends and family of Destiny personnel when the Stargate Project finally became public**

Emily Harrison (formerly Young) is navigating the crazy Washington DC rush hour traffic as the music on the classical station ends and the signal for a special announcement sounds.

Her heart seems to skip a few beats as she listens to the President's speech, making the Stargate Program public knowledge. She gasps, fumbles for the volume knob; her hands are shaking so hard she has to look down to find it.

She never sees the 18-wheeler cutting across in front of her.

As the rescue workers cut her out of the smoldering wreckage she's already in a coma with no obvious brain activity.

Everett Young's heart breaks again when he is called to Earth via the communication stones. They haven't spoken in half a lifetime but it's still hard for him to act as a witness as they turn off the machines sustaining her life.

**oOo**

Patricia Armstrong has been quietly selling off her belongings for years – jewelry, artwork, prized collections, antiques, furniture, and finally the big mansion and surrounding estate. She's moved into a small apartment in downtown DC – ostensibly to be closer to the arts scene.

She's a guest of honor at the President's speech when the Stargate Program goes public. She says a few well thought-out words about her late husband, and her daughter, who by now must be about as old as she was the last time she saw her.

And the next day she gives all of her considerable wealth away to colleges all over the world, endowing scholarships for young visionaries, for students like her daughter who stood up in the face of adversity and made something out of nothing, who survived unimaginable odds.

She spends her days reading essays and testimonies, and she realizes that Chloe was just one of countless extraordinary young people, and they all feel like her children to her now. Choosing the recipients of the scholarships gives her life new meaning, because Chloe's spirit lives on in every single one of them.

**oOo**

Matthew Balic wasn't exactly a popular kid in school, and he wasn't the center of the party in college, either. But when his work colleagues find out he's the son of one of those lost on the Destiny at the edge of the universe a long time ago, he's suddenly the hottest topic at the water cooler.

He's uncomfortable with his newfound fame, avoiding the press and the celebrity status. He takes care of his mother who has been fighting bouts of alcoholism for as long as he can remember. Now he can afford the best programs and treatments for her, and all he wants is for the attention from the outside world to go away so that she can get better.

His father comes to visit occasionally, but it's hard for him to connect with the man who looks different every time he shows up.

Truthfully, he just wants to be left alone.

**oOo**

Sharon Walker has written a book about her life with Camile Wray when she hears that the program was made public. She stares at the huge text file she has amassed and then sits back down and edits the whole thing, putting all the classified bits and pieces back into her memoir.

Camile hasn't come to see her in so long she can barely remember. They have slowly drifted apart and after all those years they feel more like former best friends than life partners.

Still, the declassification brings a renewed bout of visits and they rekindle their relationship.

When she hears of Camile's death so far away she cancels her book signing and goes to see one of her dearest friends whom she would never have met had it not been for the Destiny and all the heartbreak she has caused.

**oOo**

Maryann Wallace is beyond caring about the Stargate Program, or Presidents' speeches, or declassifications, nosy reporters or high-priced interview offers. Sharon is the only one who comes to see her at least once a week. She brings her flowers, she sits and talks to her, she laughs and cries with her like any good friend would.

Maryann Wallace passed away quietly in her son's arms years ago.

Sharon brings newspaper clippings with her. She places them in an envelope after she's read them to her, and then she tucks the package under the thick vines covering her grave.

And in her mind Maryann hugs her, and they cry a little, and they laugh a little.

And life goes on.

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_**Thanks for reading! A comment or feedback would be very much appreciated. :)**_

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